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From: John 1:43-51

The Calling of the First Disciples (Continuation)

43] The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. And He found Philip and said
to him, “Follow Me.” [44] Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew
and Peter. 45] Philip found Nathaniel, and said to him, “We have found Him of
whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son
of Joseph.” [46] Nathaniel said to him, “Can anything good come out of Naza-
reth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” [47] Jesus saw Nathaniel coming to
Him, and said to him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” [48] Na-
thaniel said to Him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Phi-
lip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” [49] Nathaniel an-
swered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel! [50] Je-
sus answered him, “Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you
believe? You shall see greater things than these.” [51] And He said to him, “Tru-
ly, truly, I say to you, you will see Heaven opened, and the angels of God ascen-
ding and descending upon the Son of Man.”

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Commentary:

43. “Follow Me” is what Jesus usually says to all His disciples (cf. Mt 4:19; 8:
22; 9:9). During Jesus’ lifetime, His invitation to follow Him implied being with
Him in His public ministry, listening to His teaching, imitating His lifestyle, etc.
Once the Lord ascended into heaven, following Him obviously does not mean
going with Him along the roads of Palestine; it means that “a Christian should
live as Christ lived, making the affections of Christ his own, so that he can ex-
claim with St Paul: ‘It is now no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me”’ (St. J.
Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 103). In all cases our Lord’s invitation involves
setting out on a journey: that is, it requires one to lead a life of striving always
to do God’s will even if this involves generous self-sacrifice.

45-51. The Apostle Philip is so moved that he cannot but tell his friend Natha-
nael (Bartholomew) about his wonderful discovery (verse 45). “Nathanael had
heard from Scripture that Jesus must come from Bethlehem, from the people
of David. This belief prevailed among the Jews and also the prophet had pro-
claimed it of old, saying: ‘But you, O Bethlehem, who are little to be among
the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler of
Israel’ (Micah 5:2).

Therefore, when he heard that He was from Nazareth, he was troubled and in
doubt, since he found that the announcement of Philip was not in agreement
with the words of the prophecy” (St. John Chrysostom, “Hom. on St. John”,
20, 1).

A Christian may find that, in trying to communicate his faith to others, they
raise difficulties. What should he do? What Philip did—not trust his own expla-
nation, but invite them to approach Jesus personally: “Come and see” (verse
46). In other words, a Christian should bring his fellow-men, his brothers into Je-
sus’ presence through the means of grace which He has given them and which
the Church ministers — frequent reception of the sacraments, and devout Chris-
tian practices.

Nathanael, a sincere person (verse 47), goes along with Philip to see Jesus;
he makes personal contact with our Lord (verse 48), and the outcome is that
he receives faith (the result of his ready reception of grace, which reaches him
through Christ’s human nature: verse 49).

As far as we can deduce from the Gospels, Nathanael is the first Apostle to
make an explicit confession of faith in Jesus as Messiah and as Son of God.
Later on St. Peter, in a more formal way, will recognize our Lord’s divinity (cf.
Matthew 16:16). Here (verse 51) Jesus evokes a text from Daniel (7:13) to con-
firm and give deeper meaning to the words spoken by His new disciple.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.